Track lubricator



March 22, 1932 w. c. MASTERS TRACK LUBRICATOR Filed March 7, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet lull. IIILIIII Ill-III lllllllllllrlr INVENTOR -Marh 22,1932.

w. c. MASTERS" 'IIRACK'LUBRICATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Marqh '7, 1929 March 22, 1932. w. cv MASTERS TRACK LUBRICATOR FiledMarqh 7/1929 3 Sheets-Sheet s III IJIIIIII II. A

INVENTOR MFM Patented Mar. 22, 1932 4 WILLIAM G. nes'rnns'or connorotrsmmirsnvnnm g 'raacx LUBnIcA'ron Application filed namh'r, 1929. Serial No. 345,064.

This invention is for a lubricator torapplying grease or oil to the head of a rail.

Various attempts have been made to provide automatic means for applying grease or lubricant to the innerface of the head of a rail on the curve of a railroad track, but such devices as have heretofore been provided have not been highly successful. Themost successful form has been one wherein the lubricant is spread against the face of a head of a rail by compressed air, but such devices 7 are of a'rather complicated.nature,'they require the presence of a source of air under pressure, and are not generally satisfactory for the-reason that'the consistency of the lubricant changes with changes of temperature, and the spray nozzles are likely to become congested. According to the present invention, there is provided asimple mechanical mechanism operatedby the passage of a car wheel along the rail for applying lubricant to the portion of the rail which it is desired to lubricate. The lubricant which is thus applied is wiped along the rail by the car wheels so as to provide for the efliective lubrication of the rail for some distance beyond the lubricator.

The invention may be readily understood by reference'to the accompanying drawings, in which 7 1 Figure 1 is aview, partly in section and partly in side elevation, of one forin of lubricating device embodying my invention, v showing it in position against the inner face of a rail;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 ofa slightly modified construction; Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 3; V

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical section in substantially the plane of line VV of Figure 1;and s Figure 6 is a similar view in substantially the plane of line VIVI of Figure 3. s

In the drawings, A'designates one rail of a railroad track. 'The head of the rail is.

. designated a andthe ,base of the railis designated I), while the web is designatedc. A

standard rail plate is provided at designatesthe usual cross-tie.

.Injthe construction as shown in Figure 1, the lubricatorlcomprises a base plate 2 having a rectangular reservoir 3' thereon, this reservoir'having inner and outer side walls dand 5, respectively, and having end walls 6. The inner portion of the plate 2 is slight ly inclined soas to fit against the base of the rail, whilelugs 7 are provided on the inner, face of the base. 7 These lugs engage the top of therail' plate B and serve to support the reservoir in a substantially horizontal position. i

Tilta'bly mounted within the reservoir 3 is a lever 8. In the construction shown in Figure 1, the lever is supported substantially midway between its ends, and is provided with enlarged portions 9 at'each end thereof. In eachofthese enlarged portions '9 vin that face which is toward the head of the rail is asocket or cavity 10. i V

. Received in each of thecavities 10 is a brush 11, this brush preferably comprising an ordinary bristle brush having a wooden or suitablelbase adapted to be receivedin the cavity 10. Passing through the back of each of the sockets are one or. more set screws 12 adapted to bear against the back of the brush and by nieansofwhich the brush can be adjusted as thebristles wear down.

In. the construction shown in Figure l, the lever, which may be tiltably supported in any suitable manner, is illustrated as having a transverse knife edge bearing 13 which-is received in a transversely extending V-shaped groove 14 inla lug 15 in the bottom of the reservoir 3. On the top of the lever 8 is a, finger 16 which is adapted to project into a longitudinallyextending groove or slot 17 in a keeper plate 17- which is over the top of the receptacle. There is provided also a cover plate 1.8 which is removably secured to the top of the reservoir, and is provided with openings 19 through which the brush carriers 15 at each end of the lever may pass.

Innse, the lubricator, which has an over B, and o all length suiiicient to span twoordin'ary cross ties as usually laid, is bolted to the rail plate on two adjacent ties with the inner side 16L 4 wall 4 toward the webof the rail, thedevice being secured in position in such a way that f there is slight clearance at 20 between the top of the wall 4 and the underside of the 5 head of the rail.

The inner face of the wall 4 is preferably in vertical alignment with the inner face of the head offthe rail.

" TheleverS i5 Over-weighted atone end, as

v shown inthe drawings, wherein the left hand therefore normallyremains in the'reservoir,

through the opening 19.1

while the right hand end normally projects flange ofthe wheel hits thetop of th'ebrush V holderwhich is projecting through the opening 19, rocking the i lever, 8 a and raising the yoppositezend of 'the lever through the .open-- ing. This 'will lie better understood by reference to Figurel, wherein the. scar wheel is indicatedtat X. -When, the wheel X strikes that endfwill be depressed and "theleft hand end will be forced up. As the left handend rises,the brush 11 thereofwill smear .or swab against the inner face of the head of 'therail, As the wheel passes beyond the lubric ator, the right hand end willlagain. arise, and it, having become saturated with grease,

will swabfluhricant against the head of the rail; v,Thisoperation isfrepeated with the passage of a wheel along the railg The'lubricant which is smeared orswabbed onto the sideof the rail'by the brushes-is, of

course, picked up by the/wheels and spread 'along thel rail whereby therail will'be eil'ectively lubricated fora considerable distance beyond, the lubricator; The number oflubricatorsfwhich need to beappliedto a given curve is'thei'efore relatively small, one being sufiicient' for some curves, while a greater number spaced ,a considerable distance from each- ,ofther'mayrbe used on long curveswherei a, avyand'considerable lubricaon required'.fl" 1 I 7 It i" desirablethatthe space between the t p of the inner wall 4 and the underside of the head 'ofthe rail be maintained in order to permit of the weaving or springing-up and j down movementof the rail as the trainpasses thereover, the space 20 providing the necessarycleara-nce. In ordersto avoid the uni necessary wasting of. lubricant, means is provided on the: outside of the wall 4'for resilientlybearing against .the underside of the head of the ir'ail forflclosing the-space 20 against the escape of lubricant. This means comprises a n onsmetallic strip, preferably a composite strip comprising a strip of leather H I Mrflhpd a strip of felt;22. v Thiscomposite end is shown as being the heavierrso "as to overbalance the other end. The left hand endzi After the device has been'secure'd in place, grease, oil' or, other lubricant to be applied tothe'inner faced the, head of the rail, is

put inthe reservoir orreceptacle 3. Whenv the wheel of a trainrolls along the rail, the y the elevated right hand end of the lever 8, V

strip issupported on a flat leaf sprin 23, and is confined against lateral movement y keep- 7 ers 24 which are welded or otherwise secured to the outside of the wall 4, The leaf spring 23 serves to hold the upper edge of the composite strip against the underside of the head of the rail, while the keepers .24 allow the composite strip 3 o slide .up and down with the sprin of the rail.

It'will e obviousthat instead of using a double ended leveras shown inFigure 1, an effective lubricator may be provided in which thereisalever having but one brush at one end thereof and having a counterweight at the other eiid In the construction shown in Figures 3, 4 and 6, such an arrangement is provided, but instead of their being a single lever, I have shown an arrangement whereinthere are two levers in each reservo1r.

In the construction shown in Figures 3, 4 and;6, the general arrangement is substantially the same as that heretofore described. The base member 25 is provided with, arectangularl receptacle or reservoir 26. Gen-f trally positioned in thereservoir26 is a bracket 27 having upstandinglugs,28.; Ex- 7 tending across between. the lugs 28. is a pin 29,01; whichis pivotally Supported a lever 30 having a brush receiving end 31in which is a brush32f On'the'opposite end of the lever 30 is a counterweight33 for normally maintaining the brush in'elevated position. Carriedon vthegpin 29 is a second lever 30' which is similar to the lever 30but which is reversedwith respect thereto, this lever havr i The vided on the pin 29between the twoflevers.

The;p in 29 isremovably secured inthe lugs 28 by m'eans of'a keeper 35 over the head of the pin, I v i The construction shown in Figure 1 is. preferable when thetrafiic moves slowly, as on a track where most of the "trains are heavy 'freighttrains, or at a point where the trains move slowly. device too violently, so that the construction shownin Figure 3 ispreferable' where the trainsaretraveling at high speed, as; each brush operates independently'and consequently, more slowly and with lessjforce on the upward travel ofthe'brush. It will not;

throwv grease the ,way thefstructureshown Fast trainsoperate the I in Figure 1 will when actuated by the wheels of a fast train.

My invention provides a simple mechanism actuated by the passage of a train along the track for effectively applying grease to the inner-side of the head of the rail. It will be noted that the brush receiving receptacles are rounded on the top so that the car wheel will encounter a rounded surface rather than a sharp corner. When the brush receptacle is pushed cleardown into the lubricant, it is clear of the flange of the wheel. Ordinarily the wheel of a train will hit the brush holder with sufiicient force to rock the 3 lever all the way down so that there is always plenty of clearance between the flange of the wheel and any portion of the lubricator, and no portion of the lubricator can be crushed or broken by the passage of the car wheel along the track. v

The car wheel in passing along the rail provides ample power for operating the lever so that the lubricator will work in any kind of weather. In the operation of the lubricator, the lever is rocked many times in the passage of a train thereover. This movement of the lever keeps the lubricant stirred up and loose. Not only does the lever serve to agitate the lubricant, but the lubricant tends to cushion the lever when it is forced down with considerable impact by the passage of a fast train thereover.

It will, of course, be understood that springs may be used in place of counterweights, and that various other departures and variations may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts, and that the particular constructions herein specifically shown and described are merely illustrative of certain embodiments of my invention, and the invention is not restricted to such embodi- Inents.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a rail, of a lubricant reservoir, a counterweighted lever having a wheel-engaging portionthereon, and a swab on the lever adapted to receive grease from the reservoir and wipe it against the face of the head of the rail.

2. In a track lubricator, a receptacle, a lever tiltably supported in the receptacle. said lever being supported between its ends, a lubricant applying element at each end of the lever, and a car wheel engaging portion at each end of the lever, one of said lubricant applying means being projected above the top of the receptacle when the other end of the lever is inside the receptacle. 7

3. In a track lubricator, a receptacle, a

pair of rail lubricating swabs alternatively movable into and out of the receptacle and adapted to receive lubricant in the receptacle and apply it to the rails when they move out of the receptacle, said lubricant applying means having wheel engaging portions whereby they are operated by the passage of'a car wheel along the rail to which the lub'ricator is applied.

4. In a track lubricator, a receptacle adapted to be-positioned along a rail with one edge thereof under the head of the rail and spaced below the head of the rail, a car wheel actuated swabbing device movable up' and down from rail indicating position above the top of the receptacle to a lubricant receiving posi= tion within the receptacle, and means yieldably interposed between the receptacle and the underside of the head of the rail for retarding theescape of lubricant in the space between the top of the receptacle to thennden side of the head of the rail. V

5. In a track lubricator, a receptacle adapted to be positioned along a rail with one edge thereof under the head of the rail and spaced below the head of the rail, a car wheel actuated swabbing device movable up and down from-rail indicating poistion above the top of the receptacle to a lubricant receiving position within the receptacle, means yieldably interposed between the receptacle and the undersideof the head of the rail for retarding the escape of lubricant in the space between the top of the receptacle to the underside of the head of the rail, said means comprising a non-metallic strip movable vertically with respect to the receptacle, and means for resiliently supporting the strip.

6. A rail lubricator comprising a 'recep tacle, a lever tiltably supported in the receptacle and having an end portion which is adapted to project above the top of the receptacle when the lever is'tilted in one direction, and which is adapted to be received in the receptacle when the lever is tilted in the other direction, a wheel engaging portion on said end of the lever, and a lubricant applying element carried on said end of the lever and adapted to wipe across the inner face of the head of a rail when said lever is rocked from one position to the other and adapted to receive lubricant when said end of the lever is forced down into the receptacle.

7. A rail lubricator comprising a receplever and adapted to wipe across the inner face of the head of a rai'l when said lever is rocked from one position to the other and adapted to receive lubricant when said end of the lever is forced down into the receptacle, said lever being counterweighted whereby the end which has the wheel engaging portion thereon is normally in an far ceptac'le. r

elevated-positionabove theqtopof the re- 8. A rail lubricator comprising a recep 7 tacle, a lever 'tiltably, supported in the re- Q'Ij ceptaele and having an end, portion which 7 is adapted to'project above the top of the receptacle when the lever is tilted in one direction, and-Which is adapted to be received in the receptacle 'when the lever is .tiltedin 10 the other direction, a wheel engaging portion on said end of the lever, and a lubricant applying element carried on said end ofthe lever and adaptedtowipeacross the I v inner 'faceof the; head of a rail when said 15 lever: is rocked from one position to the other and adapted to receive lubricant when said ends of the lever is forceddowninto the rece tacle, 'saidlever being counterweighted W erebythe end which has the Wheel en- 20 gaging portion thereon is' normally in an elevated position above the top of the re ceptacle, said lubricant applying means being removably and adjustably carried in saidend of thelever. v 26 9. Ina track lubricator, a receptacle, a countervveighted lever tiltably supported in the receptacle for verticalflmovement in a gla'neparallel withthe plane of the rail to e lubricated, f a Wheel-engaging portion on w; the'ylever, the Wheel-engaging port on being i normally elevated to wheel-engaging position by the counterweighting ofrthe lever,

and a, grease applying element on the'lever adapted upon movement Df-the lever to rea; ceive the lubricant from theprece'ptacle and apply it to the rail to be lubricated.

,In testimony whereof" I have hereunto set my hand. I a a WILLIAM C. MASTERS. 

